Ray LaHood

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. I submit, all of the people of our districts, the small business people, would love for you to give them additional time to review these lousy regulations.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, in football or basketball, a team may call a timeout when they have lost control of the game and they need time to get their act together. Sometimes you need that timeout to catch your breath or slow your opponent's momentum. Well, I happen to believe that the Federal Government has lost control of the regulatory process in America. That's why we need to take a timeout from passing new regulations. As we speak, the Clinton administration is planning to pursue another 4,300 new regulations for this fiscal year. That is too much, especially from an administration that claims to be reinventing Government. Mr. Speaker, Team America needs a timeout to stop our opponents, Team Regulation, from running roughshod over us. Let's vote for H.R. 450 and return sanity back to Federal regulations.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, is it within the realm of the House rules for Members to smoke on the floor?

Mr. LaHOOD. I wish the Chair would advise Members of that, please.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I have an article here that appeared in the Miami Herald on February 21 that says they will find some dirt on Gingrich, and one of our colleagues is quoted as saying that people have been assigned by House Democrats to ``investigate Gingrich on a daily basis,'' and ``we are going to stay on his back.'' I really doubt if the American people sent our colleagues here to try and downgrade or to try and develop some sort of a list of how we can do in a particular Member of this House. I think the American people sent us here to do the people's business and to pass legislation and work together. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to put aside partisan politics, to put aside any feelings of trying to do somebody in. Let us work together and do the people's business that we were sent here to do.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, the President sent a message to the House last evening asking Congress to pass legislation to establish a 3- person panel to arbitrate the baseball strike. I say there is no role for Congress in the baseball strike. But I do have a suggestion. How about we get the millionaire owners and the millionaire players to sit around a table and talk to one another so the average person can go see a baseball game? This is ridiculous for Congress to be involved when we have all of these high-paid people who are supposed to be pretty smart and they can sit down and solve this thing. Congress should not be involved. I do not agree with the President on this. Have them sit down at a table and solve it all so that all of the average folks out there can watch baseball this spring and this summer.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, the results of the last election speak volumes. May I finish, sir? Thank you. The results of the last election speak volumes in terms of this particular issue. Many of us were elected on the idea that this institution has not had the discipline to balance its budgets for whatever reasons. Please let me finish, sir, make my point, and then you may continue, sir. We believe the way to bring discipline to the institution is to pass a balanced budget amendment, to give the President the line-item veto so that when we have these monumental bills that some have called Christmas trees, where we all load up with our special projects--and it has gone on for years on both sides of the aisle, not just your side but on our side, too--that there is a mechanism in place to deal with it. That is my point.

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LaHOOD. Here is my point, sir, here is my point. Those of us just elected in the last election came here with the idea that this institution has not had the discipline to balance its budget for too long and for many, many years.

Mr. LaHOOD. I thank the gentleman for yielding. First of all, to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Kanjorski], I in no way meant to offend him. If I did, I apologize for doing that.

Mr. LaHOOD. Is the gentleman going to yield?

Mr. LaHOOD. Let me finish here, let me finish.

Mr. LaHOOD. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, I am afraid, like a number of other of his colleagues on that side, has been around here too long. What he has just said--listen, I am not trying to----

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker and Members, I come here today to pay special honor to one of our Members, the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Largent]. Over the weekend the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Largent] was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and it is a particular honor for me as Steve is a Member of the new freshman class, as I am. In 14 years with the Seattle Sea Hawks, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Largent] set six different career records and participated in seven pro bowls. On the gridiron he led the Nation in touchdown receptions in 1974 and 1975. In 1988, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Largent] was honored as NFL Man of the Year for his accomplishments on the field and off. Mr. Speaker, he brings great honor and distinction to this body, and in particular I am proud to say he is a Member of our class and a Member of the House of Representatives. I say to the gentleman, ``Congratulations, Steve Largent, for being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a great honor for you and a great honor for all of us.''

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity Wednesday night to attend the Washington Press club dinner, and I also was pleased to take note of the fact that the Dirksen Congressional Research Center chose Elaine Povich as the recipient of the Award for the Best Reporting of Congress. Now, past winners have included Cokie Roberts, Marty Tolchin, John Dancy, Adam Clymer, and Helen Dewar. Elaine is the chief congressional correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Her articles educate and enlighten millions of people throughout Illinois. Most notably, her recent work on the development of health care legislation in Congress gave all her readers a chance to see how this place really works. She took an extremely complex issue and process and made them both comprehensible. I personally have enjoyed Elaine's work for years, and I know that she is deserving of the great honor of being named the recipient of this award from the Dirksen Research Center. Congratulations, Elaine, keep up the good work. Mr. Speaker, I include Elaine's biography at this point: Biography of Elaine S. Povich Elaine S. Povich is a Capitol Hill correspondent for the Chicago Tribune who also covers health care issues. Prior to this assignment, her work concentrated on economic issues. She joined the newspaper in March, 1987. Before joining the Tribune, Povich was employed by United Press International for 12 years, the last nine in Washington. She was most recently UPI's Capitol Hill reporter. Povich is the recipient of the 1989 Women in Communications `Clarion' award for her story on the impact of the most recent stock market crash on the Chicago markets and on federal regulation of those markets. Povich served on the board of the former Washington Press Club and is the immediate past President of the Washington Press Club Foundation, a non-profit organization which promotes journalistic history and issues. Born in Bath, Maine, she was graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in English. While at Cornell, Povich was awarded a the Fund's internship program. She joined UPI in Jackson, Mississippi in 1975. Povich is married to Ronald Dziengiel, a manager with Westinghouse Electric Co., and lives in Laurel, Maryland. They have one child, Mark Dziengiel, age 3.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I must say that the Democrats are adjusting well to their new minority status. I thought it would take them at least several months to completely marginalize themselves in this Chamber, but they appear to have accomplished this in record time. While Republicans have busied ourselves at making good on out promises to the American people to end unfunded mandates and pass a balanced budget amendment, the Democrats have put all of their energy into creating an atmosphere of cynicism and mistrust. But the delay tactics of the Democrats will not prevent us from working the will of the American people. We Republicans will pass an unfunded mandates bill, and, we will pass a balanced budget amendment. Someone once noted that cynicism is frustrated idealism. Last November, the Democrats witnessed the total repudiation of their ideals. Now, they have reduced themselves to a cynical display of class-envy and obstructionism.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me. Mr. Speaker and ladies and gentleman, I do not know a politician anywhere in America, not one, not one Democrat, not one Republican anywhere in this House that wants to cut Social Security. The biggest fig leaf is to have the distinguished Democratic whip come on the floor and offer 4 minutes and 50 seconds of remarks speaking against the resolution and then tell us he is going to support it. He does not want to cut Social Security; I do not want to cut Social Security, no Republican wants to cut Social Security. The gentlewoman from Colorado does not, I know. Nobody does. So do not stand there, do not come to the floor, do not accuse us of wanting to do that. Help us pass the resolution.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Originally, Mr. Speaker, I was going to say something about set in here in the House. I am absolutely amazed that the distinguished minority leader and distinguished minority whip would come to the House and castigate and chastise Republicans for the open rules that we have given them on unfunded mandates, over 150 amendments? Gosh, I can never remember when the Democrats were in charge that they ever had an open rule on a major piece of legislation. Well, amnesia has been cured. The American people will now have debated a balanced budget amendment, unfunded mandates, term limits, line-item veto. We have been cured. We do have open rules, Members have not been gagged. Get with it. We are in charge, and we will set the agenda.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, after sitting here and listening to my Democrat colleagues on the floor last week and this morning, I think I have a good idea of what issues the President will bring up in the State of the Union Address tomorrow night: book deals. Yes, it seems the only thing on Democrats' minds right now is book deals and other trivial distractions. Forget the important things in the world today, like a balanced budget amendment and passing the unfunded mandates legislation. Book deals are the only thing worth talking about if you are a Democrat. So, it should be a short State of the Union Address, probably the shortest in history, because if the President acts anything like his fellow Democrats on the Hill, he will not talk about the real issues, he too will try his hardest to change the subject and talk about book deals. I hope he talks about issues because that is what the American people want him to talk about.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, Saturday, January 21, 1995, will be a very special day in the lives of a wonderful family living in Peoria, IL. Alice Agnes Spears will be celebrating her 100th birthday. Her three sons, Joseph, George, and Bill, along with 13 grandchildren; 23 greatgrandchildren; and 2 great-great grandchildren, with family and friends, will celebrate a life of caring and inspiration for those whose lives have been touched by this devoted lady. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Alice Agnes Spears a very happy 100th birthday.

Mr. LaHOOD

Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, this is my first opportunity to stand in the well of the House, and I take it very seriously because I am pleased to participate in a special order to honor our former colleague, Ed Madigan. My special thanks to you, Tom Ewing, a friend and a neighbor, for setting aside this time to honor Ed Madigan, who obviously was a dear friend of yours and of many others. While Ed was a Member of Congress he represented a large part of the district which I currently represent. Ed and his lovely wife, Evelyn, resided in their hometown of Lincoln, where he was finally laid to rest. I have known Ed for a long time, but my fondest memories will always be his knack of telling great stories. He had a very dry sense of humor, and he used his tale-spinning ability to entertain audiences with one funny story after another. Because of this talent, I will always remember Ed Madigan as the ``Will Rogers of central Illinois.'' He was an astute politician who could draw a congressional map to favor those of his own party. He was a talented legislator and craftsman who helped to write an 800-page farm bill in 1990, and he was a statesman, as evidenced by his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture during the Bush administration. As is demonstrated by those who participate today in this special order, Ed Madigan was loved and admired by Members of both sides of the aisle. On a very personal note, I must take special note of the fact that the last public event that Ed Madigan participated in was a fund raising hog roast for me in his home county on October 3. I knew he was not feeling well, but he never complained. He stood before a group of 300 of his neighbors and friends to spin tales and offer supportive comments on my behalf, for which I will forever be grateful. In conclusion, I want to quote from a column by Alan Guebert, an agricultural writer, which I will enter into the Record: ``There are two kinds of politicians, show horses and work horses.'' He was by his own admission the latter, a work horse; a man who sought fairness, not fame. He never sought the television lights. When Edward R. Madigan was lowered into the deep black prairie on the afternoon of December 12, 8 straight days of dismal winter weather broke, and stunning sunshine flooded the Illinois farm country. I would like to conclude today by asking to have entered into the Record the heartfelt eulogies delivered by Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar and my former boss and former Republican leader, Congressman Bob Michel. Again to you, Tom, thank you so much for arranging this special order. Ed Madigan: He Led Quietly and Sought Fairness, Not Fame (By Alan Guebert) There are only two types of politicians, he liked to say: show horses and workhouses. He was, by his own admission, the latter; a man who sought fairness, not fame or television lights. Yet fame finally found him. And when it did, he glided through glittering Washington in limousines. His friends all knew, however, that he was more comfortable exploring junkyards for vintage jalopies. His predecessors at the U.S. Department of Agriculture possessed farm backgrounds and walls full of postgraduate degrees. But he grew up driving his father's taxi, not tractors, around Lincoln. The only advanced degree he earned--other than honorary--came from the Knights of Columbus. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives for six years, the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years and USDA for two years. But before he served Central Illinois, the nation and farmers, he first served his church as an altar boy for 12 years. After he stepped into public service in early 1966, he won an enviable string of 13 consecutive races in 26 years. After he left public office in 1992, he lost his biggest race of all Dec. 7. He pushed, cajoled, jawbound and jostled negotiators of the European Union into accepting the first-ever global trade treaty for agriculture. But he passed away one day before President Bill Clinton signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. He devoted his life to the Republican Party, just as his father, ``Red,'' had done as a GOP stalwart for 40 years. But the first big vote he faced as a freshman congressman in 1973 was the potential impeachment of a Republican president, Richard Nixon. ``I would have voted to impeach, too,'' he once told me, ``because not even the president is above the law.'' He fought to restrict the growth of government, but spent a legislative career powerlessly watching it multiply. In his congressional district, the very center of Illinois' abundant agriculture, government employees outnumber farmers by a 5- to-1 ratio. The irony contained in that unbalanced equation was not lost on him in farm policy writing, either. As a rookie Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, he voted for the 29-page, 1973 Farm Bill. The last Farm Bill he helped craft as the ranking minority member in 1990 totaled a staggering 719 pages. Despite being viewed as a moderate, he was often staunchly partisan. When he preached the party line, however, it usually was in private and it always was with unfailing politeness. He disliked the take-no-prisoners politics of today's Republican leadership. He saw its rise and tried to stop it by challenging Newt Gingrich for the Republican whip's job in 1989. He lost that intraparty fight by two votes--87 to 85-- and confrontation replaced compromise in his beloved House. Weary of always being in the minority--and, having seen the Republicans snare the presidency four times during his Washington tenure without making a dent in the Democratic majority in the House--he lost faith in early 1991 and opted out. When he notified the White House in January 1991 of his interest in the vacant secretary of agriculture post-- indirectly and very discreetly, of course--the job looked safe for six years. George Bush was cruising toward re- election with a sparkling voter approval rating of 87 percent. But Bush stumbled in 1992 and the man who had trained 18 years to lead American agriculture silently left USDA after just 18 months as secretary. It was the one time his political instinct had failed him. But he did not complain. He never complained. He led. And he led quietly. Like a workhorse. When Edward R. Madigan was lowered into the deep, black prairie on the afternoon of Dec. 12, eight straight days of dismal winter weather broke and stunning sunshine flooded the Illinois farm country. Eulogy of Hon. Robert Michel for Ed Madigan Evelyn, Kim, Kellie, Mary Elizabeth, brother Bob, Sister Sandra and Grandchildren. It's a most difficult task to be called upon to speak when you are overcome with grief in the passing of a loved one. All the more so when it's your close friend and colleague who has been taken from you so suddenly. We find it particularly hard to take when the last time we saw Ed, scarcely two months ago, he was in his usual good form speaking atop a couple of bales of straw at a Logan County Pig Roast he was hosting for Ray LaHood just before the election. We simply can't fathom the speed with which the scourge of cancer can take its toll on what we all perceived as a very healthy, robust, tall and erect good-looking fellow like Ed Madigan. Who are we to know what our fate will bring--the whys and wherefores--all we know and feel is that Ed was taken from us all too soon. His was a life deeply steeped in politics, and devoted primarily to public service. I knew him as a very able state legislator before he came to the Congress where he selected by President Bush as his Secretary of Agriculture. During the extended period we worked closely together and became fast friends. He was not the flamboyant type, but rather one who prided himself in doing his homework, quietly going about his business, getting the facts, and being a stickler for detail. In short, he was a legislator of the old school. A legislative craftsman genuinely interested--and marvelously skilled--in forming good legislation out of the give-and-take of debate and discussion. To legislate successfully in a democracy means not only being able to understand the problems, or articulate the problems, but also the rare ability to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to solve the problems. Some political activists call such an approach ``compromise.'' Ed called it by its real name: democracy in action. I can tell you from experience that not everyone is capable of enduring the long hours, the endless debates, the mixture of raging ego and intense ambition and partisan enmities that make up so much of the legislative process. But Ed Madigan, with that sense of civility and reserve and decency which seemed inherent in him, went about his work patiently and proudly, always being the perfect gentleman. He was proud to be a public servant at a time when public service has been getting bad press. Well, Ed Madigan's life is the answer we give to those who doubt that a genuine sense of public service still lives in this country. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and of the Agriculture Committee, Ed always brought to his duties that enviable but indefinable quality called class. Ernest Hemingway once defined courage as ``grace under pressure.'' We might similarly define class as grace under the glaring spotlight of public life. There was a sense of easy, good-humored charm about Ed, always tempered by that sense of reserve, that attractive reticence, that innate self-possessiony that is as rare as it is admirable in the rough and tumble world of politics. And that is how we will remember him: his class, his sense of calm amidst the storm, the easy, comfortable charm of the born leader. Jim Edgar Eulogy Ed Madigan Funeral Reverend Clergy, Eveline and members of the family, to my colleagues in government and to friends and neighbors of Ed Madigan * * * I consider it a great honor to be asked to say a few words about my good friend. But first, on behalf of Brenda and myself and all the people of Illinois, Eveline, to you, and members of the family, let us express our sympathy and best wishes. Ed Madigan is without doubt, one of the most effective and competent public officials I ever had the pleasure of knowing or working with. As a legislator, he was second to none. Particularly when you consider the 24 years he spent in the legislative branch of government, only six of those years, the first six, when he was a member of the Illinois House, he was in the majority party. All the time he served in the United States Congress, he was in the minority party. but throughout his legislative career, he was extremely effective. As politics in America * * * said of Ed, no one seems to have told Madigan that Republican's are at a disadvantage when it comes to writing legislation in a heavily Democratic House. Over the past decade, he has had as much impact on public policy as all but a few senior democrats. As Secretary of Agriculture, he was equally as effective though unfortunately he didn't serve in that position as long as he did in Congress. I well remember in the closing days of the bush Administration, talking to Ed by phones and saying ``are you kind of winding down?'' * * * he says ``No, I have to go back and forth to Europe as I am trying to negotiate part of the Gatt Treaty'' * * * and I thought to myself at that time, how fortunate the farmers of this country and all of us were to have someone with the ability to negotiate like Ed Madigan representing us. And that reminded me the other day when one of the newspaper stories told of a Democratic Congressman who commented about Ed that he was a person when you negotiated with him and you all got done, you realized you had all bought the same horse a couple of times. And he meant that as a highest compliment. Ed Madigan had many outstanding characteristics. Those of you would attended Republican functions during the year knew that whenever Ed Madigan was going to speak, you could count on a good story. He learned that well from the namesake of his hometown, Lincoln. In fact, the only fear I had when he started to tell those stories * * * that I might be the object of one of those stories. Ed Madigan also had the characteristic of loyalty. In fact, that was something I always admired * * * he was very loyal-- loyal to family. In fact, I don't know of any time I journeyed out to Washington or he was back in Springfield, we sat down and talked about things, that he didn't bring up a member of the family. To his community, even though he went far in Washington, he never forgot his roots. He never forgot particularly, his hometown of Lincoln and the many people he grew up with and represented there so well. The mayor was quoted in the paper the other day saying ``the day he became Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Madigan traced him down--tracked him down (I think) on vacation, and said, ``oh, by the way, you need to know about this grant that could help Lincoln.'' That's the way he was, very loyal to family, to community, and to friends. I consider Ed Madigan one of the closest friends I've had in politics. We first met in 1971. He was a young member of the Illinois House and I was a young staffer in the Illinois State Senate. And we worked on reapportionment. Now, those of you who knew Ed, knew that there was nothing more important than politics and particularly, reapportionment. He was a very skilled negotiator at an early age. And from that point in 1971, we became close friends. And no matter when I needed help or needed advice, and I would turn to Ed, he was always available. Whether I was just a staffer or later a State Legislator, or Secretary of State, or then as Governor, he always had time no matter what he was doing in Washington, to set aside part of his day to meet with me. Ed Madigan was truly a good friend and I am sure I speak for many many in this church today who felt that way about Ed. Much can be said about Ed, but to me, I guess the most important thing was he was someone you could always could on. Someone who in his quiet and effective way, made a difference. We will all miss Ed. But more importantly, no matter how long we live, we will always be very appreciative that we had a chance to know Ed and we will never forget Ed Madigan.